planning required. For most speakers, anxiety tends to be lowest during the preparation
phase.
Pre-performance anxiety: A feeling of anxiety experienced when a speaker begins to rehearse a
speech
Performance anxiety: A feeling of anxiety that occurs the moment one begins to perform
What are some proven strategies that can help speakers build confidence?
Prepare and practice
Modify thoughts and attitudes
Visualize success
Activate the relaxation response
Use movement
ACTIVITIES
What Doesn’t Kill You. . .
Purpose: To draw a comparison between PSA and other sources of anxiety; to help students put
PSA in perspective.
Instructions: Ask students to list five experiences that give them the most anxiety. State how the
anxiety they associate with these experiences compares with the level of public speaking anxiety
they feel.
A serious look at anxieties about such events as death, illness, loss of financial security, or failing
a class may help students put their fears in perspective and even downplay the anxieties
associated with public speaking. More specifically, have students brainstorm the worst that could
happen to them while delivering a speech, and, as an instructor, address each of those imagined
fears to desensitize students to them. It may even be helpful to convince students (without
attacking their self-esteem, of course) that some of those fears are far-fetched or unrealistic.
Hopefully, actually listing these fears will help students realize that their anxieties will not result
in major catastrophes and may even result in some positive experiences.
Visualizing Speech Day
Instructions: Have students read the visualization script located in Chapter 3 of the textbook.
Discuss how using this technique can help reduce anxiety. Then have students write their own
1. How prepared will you feel when you wake up the morning of your speech?
2. How will you dress for the occasion? What will your clothes communicate to your audience?
3. How will you feel when you arrive at the classroom on speech day? When you approach the
podium?
4. How will you deliver the speech? What adjectives will describe your delivery?
5. How will your audience respond to your speech content and your delivery?
Discussion: After students have completed their scripts, ask for a few volunteers to describe
what success looks like for them. Encourage students to use their scripts periodically as they
prepare for speech day. It is important to communicate that thinking positively about the speech
Celebrity Quotes about Public Speaking Anxiety
Purpose: To help students understand the prevalence of public speaking anxiety; to give students
an opportunity to relate to a well-known communicator.
Instructions: Ask students to research quotes about public speaking anxiety. Many
accomplished and successful historical figures, politicians, actors/actresses, musicians, athletes,
and other performers have spoken about the anxiety they felt when having to speak in public.
Discussion: After students have researched their quotes, ask them to share them with the class.
This activity is always a class favorite because it utilizes popular culture to demonstrate course
material.
Overcoming Your Fear with Style
Purpose: To help students overcome their fears by having them identify the strengths and
weaknesses of their speaking style.
Instructions: Give students the following statements/questions, and have them prepare written
responses to each of them.
2. List your anxieties or fears about public speaking.
Discussion: Instructors can use these responses to generate discussion with students. The
instructor should point out that many students have the same fears and weaknesses, and that they
Public Speaking Self-Evaluations
Purpose: Students can use the following instruments to measure their level of communication
apprehension. Once students are able to identify where and why they may experience
communication apprehension, they can work toward reducing their anxiety.
PERSONAL REPORT OF PUBLIC SPEAKING ANXIETY (PRPSA)
Instructions: This instrument is composed of thirty-four statements concerning feelings about
(1) Strongly agree
(3) Are undecided
(5) Strongly disagree
______ 1. While preparing to give a speech, I feel tense and nervous.
______ 2. I feel tense when I see the words speech and public speaking on a course outline.
______ 3. My thoughts become confused and jumbled when I am giving a speech.
______ 4. Right after giving a speech, I feel that I have had a pleasant experience.
______ 13. I am in constant fear of forgetting what I prepared to say.
______ 14. I get anxious if someone asks me something about my topic that I do not know.
______ 15. I face the prospect of giving a speech with confidence.
______ 16. I feel that I am in complete possession of myself while giving a speech.
______ 17. My mind is clear while giving a speech.
______ 26. I feel comfortable and relaxed in the hour or so just before giving a speech.
______ 27. I do poorly giving speeches because I am anxious.
______ 28. I feel anxious when the teacher announces the date of a speaking assignment.
______ 29. When I make a mistake while giving a speech, I find it hard to concentrate on the
parts that follow.
To determine your score on the PRPSA, complete the following steps:
II. Add the scores for items 1–3, 5, 9, 10, 13, 14, 19–23, 25, 27–34.
III. Add the scores for items 4, 6–8, 11, 12, 15–18, 24, and 26.
IV. Complete the following formula:
PRPSA = 132 – (total from step 1) + (total from step 2)
Your score should range between 34 and 170. If your score is below 34 or above 170, you have
made a mistake in computing it.
Score Anxiety about Public Speaking
34–84 Low (5% of people)
93–110 Moderate (20%)
120–170 Very high (40%)
Most people score in the moderate to high categories!
Note: Complete one of these forms at the beginning of the semester and one after your final
This inventory addresses communication in general—not just public speaking. It assesses trait
anxiety, which is the level of anxiety we feel across a wide range of communication contexts.
Communication Anxiety Inventory*: Form Trait
(1) Sometimes
(3) Almost always
(4) Almost never
______ 1. I think I communicate effectively in one-on-one situations.
______ 2. My heart beats faster than usual when I speak out in small group meetings.
______ 3. I enjoy speaking in public.
______ 4. I avoid talking with individuals I don’t know very well.
______ 15. I make a good impression when I speak in public.
______ 16. I would like to have a job that requires me to talk often on a one-to-one basis.
______ 17. I feel disappointed in my efforts to communicate at small group meetings.
______ 18. My body feels tense and stiff when I speak in public.
______ 19. When conversing with someone on a one-on-one basis, I prefer to listen rather than
Your total score should range between 21 and 84. The higher your score, the more overall
communication anxiety you experience. To determine your anxiety level for dyadic, small group,
Note: Reverse coding of items 1, 3, 7, 8, 11, 14–16, and 21 before summing.
Scoring: Dyadic: Add items 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, and 19.
Small group: Add items 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, and 20.
Public speaking: Add items 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, and 21.
This inventory addresses communication in genera—not just public speaking. It assesses state
anxiety, which is the level of anxiety we feel in particular situations, such as public speaking.
Communication Anxiety Inventory*: Form State
(2) Somewhat
(4) Very much so
______ 1. I felt very tense and nervous.
______ 2. I felt self-confident while talking.
______ 3. While talking, I was afraid of making an embarrassing or silly slip of the tongue.
______ 4. I worried about what others thought of me.
______ 5. I felt calm while I was talking.
______ 6. I felt ill at ease using gestures when I spoke.
______ 7. I could not think clearly when I spoke.
______ 8. My listener(s) seemed interested in what I had to say.
______ 9. I felt poised and in control while I was talking.
______ 10. My body felt tense and stiff while I was talking.
______ 11. My words became confused and jumbled while I was speaking.
______ 12. I felt relaxed while I was talking.
______ 13. My fingers and hands trembled while I was speaking.
______ 14. I felt I had nothing worthwhile to say.
______ 15. I had a deadpan expression on my face when I spoke.
______ 16. I found myself talking faster or slower than usual.
______ 17. While speaking, it was easy to find the right words to express myself.
______ 18. I felt awkward while I was talking.
______ 19. My heart seemed to beat faster than usual.
______ 20. I maintained eye contact when I wanted to.
*Copyright 1986 by the Eastern Communication Association.
IV. GROUP ACTIVITIES
That Time I Was “On Top of My Game”
Purpose: To improve students’ confidence by having them recall past successes.
Instructions: Describe occasions during which you felt especially confident. What was it about
successes with their groups. Often, students will report feeling confident about a skill that took
years to master. This is an excellent time to remind students that it takes similar time and effort to
master public speaking.
Proof We Don’t Really Die from Embarrassment
Have students get into groups and tell the others about something embarrassing they’ve done.
(This should not be something embarrassing that happened to them; it should be about something
they have done.) Caution students to keep it clean and to avoid disclosing anything too personal
or traumatic to the group. If possible, the instructor should give the class a personal example
V. ONLINE ACTIVITIES
Online Students Experience PSA, Too! (for online courses)
Purpose: To help students enrolled in online public speaking courses understand and manage
their anxiety.
use them as a springboard to discuss their feelings of nervousness about upcoming speeches.
Students often laugh when telling their stories, which is a great teaching tool because it gives you
the opportunity to point out how our feelings of embarrassment fade over time as we gain
perspective. Remind them that, while they may feel embarrassed about recording themselves